


Mission Parameters

by BbeGrl238



Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Eventual Fluff, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fake Character Death, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff and Humor, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Nosy Neighbors, Oblivious, Pining, Unreliable Narrator, brief mentions of Sitwell, brief mentions of homophobia, implied couples, lots of pining and angst, most couples mentioned in passing, suburbia is scary, these two are just so meant for each other jfc, they get dirty looks at one point, this is my favorite trope so I had to take a shot at it, writer also doesn't know how to do this tagging thing, writer knows nothing of spies or mission debriefs
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-09
Updated: 2015-06-17
Packaged: 2018-03-29 04:51:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3882961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BbeGrl238/pseuds/BbeGrl238
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bucky's first solo mission is going fine until it's not. The lead he was following has dragged him into the middle of suburbia hell and he needs a cover story. Enter Steve, who would do anything to make sure Bucky's first solo mission succeeds, and you have a lot of awkward men trying to fake being in love while secretly fighting evil. Figuring out their feelings along the way only makes things more difficult. Add in the occasional help from old friends to keep their cover, new friends along the road, a few well meaning set ups and you get one hell of an interesting mission to say the least.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Debrief

**Author's Note:**

> Ah, okay so I decided to try my hand at the pretend relationship thing and it's actually been pretty fun to write so far so here goes! This is my first chapter fic and I'm hoping to be able to update at least once a month. (I know it's a long update period but if I get more done in between I will have earlier updates.) I do have some idea for the plot but right now it's kind of go-where-the-characters-take-you. 
> 
> If you see any mistakes **please** feel free to let me know. I hate mistakes so I will fix them with glee. 
> 
> I'm pretty sure I've tagged everything so far but if you see a trigger or something that needs to be tagged please let me know and I will add it! 
> 
> You can find me on [tumblr](http://yeahishipitbitch.tumblr.com/) here!
> 
> Aaaaaand I think that's it! So without further ado, I hope you enjoy! :)
> 
> EDIT: Ok so I have NOT abandoned this fic! I've just gotten really busy with school, work, and life. I promise I'm still writing away, I'm actually hoping to have the next three chapters done and ready to post so you guys don't have to run into a huge time gap again.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just setting up the plot at this point.
> 
> Beta'd by the wonderful [accioo-mjolnir](http://accioo-mjolnir.tumblr.com/) on tumblr :)

Steve strides into the kitchen, face full of worry and asks, “Is he back?”

Clint glances up from his perch, crouching on the counter top; donut in one hand, coffee in the other. “Nat text you?” he asks.

Steve nods and shifts his weight trying not to let his impatience show. This had been Bucky’s first solo mission since he got him back and Steve got a text this morning saying the mission parameters had changed, Bucky was coming home early. He'd been, justifiably if you ask him, nervous and jittery wondering what happened and knowing he’s not going to get any details unless he gets to the debrief in time.

Clint nods and hops down, landing with a muffled thump. He shoves what’s left of his current donut into his mouth and flips the lid on the donut box, grabbing a second one. “She said Fury wants you to meet him for the debriefing in five,” Clint throws over his shoulder on his way out the door.

Steve glances at his watch noticing the time and asks, “Did she say where?”

The only response he gets is a shrug before Clint rounds the corner. Growling under his breath with frustration, he turns and jogs to the elevator. Hitting the button for the office level and hoping his hunch is right, Steve wills himself not to panic. Just because Fury wants him there for the debriefing doesn’t mean anything bad happened. Hell, Fury asked Steve to be present for the first three mission debriefs and Bucky had gone on those with Natasha and, needless to say, those had gone off without a hitch. So why now? Why does Fury suddenly _want_ Steve at the debrief when normally he glowers as he slips into the back of the room to wait for Bucky?

 

When the elevator doors open to the office floor Natasha pushes away from the wall and waits for Steve to step off before turning on her heel and moving down the hallway. Knowing Steve would follow she starts, “Clint tell you where to find us or did the donuts I brought him back get in the way of his speaking abilities again?” Without waiting for a reply she throws a quick glance over her shoulder and continues, “Did he tell what this is about, or send you down here without any info?”

Steve waits a second to make sure she’s done before answering; “He just asked if you texted me and then told me to meet you in five. The office floors were just a lucky guess on my part.”

She makes a soft grunting noise before stopping in front of a closed door and giving Steve a quick once over. “Well, going in blind it is then,” Natasha gives him a little smirk, pushing open the door with a “This is going to be fun.”

Steve shudders at the déjà vu that brushes over him and the wave of nerves that follows. Natasha’s version of fun is never really fun to anybody else. Well, except maybe Clint, and more recently Bucky.

Refusing to let his hesitation show, he holds his head high and immediately follows Nat into the room.

It’s a simple office, not overly large, and empty but for an industrial metal desk and a few metal folding chairs lined up against the wall. Fury is sitting; knuckles weaved and propped against his lips, deep in thought. Bucky is plopped down in one of the former wall chairs; legs spread and arm crossed defiantly, scowling at the wall, letting his whole demeanor scream _I don’t want to be here_.

The atmosphere shifts from ‘principal’s office’ to something decidedly less friendly, if that’s even possible, when Fury and Bucky noticed the new arrivals.

Fury’s gaze shifts to Bucky, watching his reaction to Steve’s arrival for some reason he can’t fathom; all the while, Bucky refuses to meet Steve’s questioning look. He does, however, greet Natasha with a mumbled, “Nat.”

Fury glances at Steve and shares a nod with Natasha as she pulls a chair away from the wall and straddles it resting her arms against the back. Since everyone seems to be waiting for Steve to sit so they can start, he coughs into the silence of the room and pulls his own chair away from the wall, placing it next to Bucky and taking his seat in one smooth motion. The cold metal almost seems welcoming after the suddenly chilly reception from the room at large.

Fury clears his throat, pulling all eyes his way and starts, “All right. Let’s start by stating the obvious, shall we? This is not how we normally debrief. And,” Fury looks at Steve, “I requested the mother-hen show up even if he always does anyway.”

Steve can feel himself flush and wants to defend hunting down Bucky after every mission but he knows that’s not the point of this strange meeting- he hesitates to call it a debrief anymore- and merely meets Fury’s look with an arched eyebrow.

Fury continues with barely a pause; “Rogers, we’ll get to your orders in a moment. Barnes, Romanoff, this is your mission debrief-”

Bucky makes a disgruntled noise, cutting Fury off, “If I’m being taken off the mission why bring Steve in at all?” He shoots Steve a quick that screams ‘nothing personal’ and continues, “All the work, following the trail, and the recon; you only have this lead because of me!”

“Barnes, don’t you think I know that? If people would let me talk without interrupting I might feel inclined to give you your _new mission parameters_.” Fury annunciates the last part carefully to emphasize his point. He pauses and looks at Bucky, allowing him a moment to speak again if he wants it, only to see that Bucky had retreated into a soldier’s blank mask like he did when high ranking officials pissed him off. Steve almost pitied Fury; he’d been on the other end of that blank stare before and knew how irritating it could be.

“As I was saying, Barnes and Romanoff, you know how a debrief works. When we leave here I want the paperwork done, munitions counted, etcetera. Understood?”

He get’s two stiff nods in reply, “Good, now,” once again addressing Steve, he continues, “Barnes has been chasing down leads as to where an unknown HYDRA official disappeared to. Seems he had some interesting skills they wanted to keep secret and the files didn’t say much, just a rundown of a few of his simpler missions. Thanks to Barnes and Romanoff we now have a basic description and we know that he is associated with a suburban neighborhood up north. It took a lot of work to get the little we have now but discretion is needed to go any further. The kind of discretion two former assassins bunking together can’t pull off. That’s where you come in, Rogers,” Fury nods his head in Steve’s direction.

“Romanoff and I discussed it and we think the best way to go about infiltrating and gaining the trust of the neighborhood is to send you in. You unconsciously make people want to talk; you make people want _you_ to like _them_ and that’s just what we need in this situation.” Fury pauses to dig around in his coat, obviously looking for something.

Steve glances from Natasha, who is giving him a somewhat amused look, to Bucky, who _still_ won’t meet his eyes, before looking back at Fury. “So…what? Me and Buck go in as roommates or something?”

Natasha smirks and says, “Or something.”

Deciding to ignore her comment for now, Steve continues, “Okaaay, what is the end game here? Are we assuming the HYDRA operative lives in this neighborhood, or are we just information seeking?”

Fury finds what he was looking for and pulls out a small, stuffed envelope, sliding it in front of Steve. He waits until Steve takes the envelope before speaking; “You and Barnes will being going in as life partners with Wilson and Hill playing college friends as a backup. The recon Romanoff did implies the people are more progressive and trusting than the usual because of suburbia mentality so no problems should arise there. Romanoff and Barton will monitor all incoming and outgoing information from the neighborhood at a nearby location, so if the mission goes south we should have some sort of warning to give you.” Fury scans Steve’s face, expression indescribable, “So far, so good Rogers?”

"Aren't people going to be a little suspicious of Captain America being their next door neighbor?"

"You won't look like you. Next question?"

Steve shrugs, only now noticing how everyone in the room is watching him for a reaction. “Sounds simple enough. It shouldn't be a problem.”

Natasha watches him shrewdly before shrugging and looking back at Fury as if waiting for further instructions.

Steve can see Bucky watching him out of the corner of his eye, but anytime he glances over Bucky looks away. He wishes he knew what Bucky thought about all this. If maybe the reason he is so upset is because he doesn’t want Steve on this op with him, but if Bucky’s not going to say anything then Steve doesn’t see a reason to either.

Before Fury can say anything in response, there’s a knock on the door and Phil peeps his head through. “Hey boss, I’ve got those files you wanted and Hill wants to know when she should come by for her mission specs.”

Natasha gracefully stands, swinging her leg over the chair back, and folds the chair, leaning it back against the wall. Nodding at Fury she says, “And that’s my cue. If you need anything, you know where to find me. See ya boss-man.”

Fury waves her away and motions Phil in before realizing Steve and Bucky are still in the room. “You two good or do we need to discuss this further?”

Steve nods to Fury, without glancing at Bucky, and holds up the envelope, “Yeah, I’m good. Is the rest in here or do you need us again later?”

“Everything you need should be in there,” Phil answers.

Fury cocks his head with amusement before nodding. “It’s all in there. Go on, get out of here.”

Steve nods one last time, feel vaguely like a bobble head with all the nodding he’s been doing, and stands to leave. When Bucky rises too, he pauses and waits for him to catch up like he usually would.

They walk out the door together and Steve can’t help the sudden tension he feels, wondering if Bucky is still upset. He throws his arm across Bucky’s shoulders, relaxing a bit when Bucky doesn’t immediately throw it off, and says, “So, you and me huh? The guys at the docks always did say we seemed too close, ha.” Steve gives a small, somewhat awkward laugh and glances over at Bucky, trying and failing to rein in the wistfulness in his smile, “What’d’ya say Buck, want some lunch since we missed breakfast?”

Bucky meets Steve’s eyes with a visibly forced smile, “Yeah Steve. Lunch sounds great." He continues to let Steve steer him down the hall for a few minutes. "Oh and Steve? Screw what the guys at the docks used to think," he mumbles quietly.

If there's a tightening in Steve's chest at that comment, then he chooses to ignore it as they walk away.


	2. Are you sure?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They eat, they talk and the reality of what this mission entails hits close to home for Steve.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the update being late! I got sick and some stuff happened, but anyway, here's your next chapter! Thank you guys for all the lovely comments and kudos it really means alot! :)
> 
> Betta'd by the lovely [bustybarnes](http://bustybarnes.tumblr.com/) and [sliceosunshine](http://sliceosunshine.tumblr.com/) on tumblr. Thanks guys! This wouldn't be ready without you!

They get through eating in companionable silence with minimal small talk, with Bucky acting like his mood from this morning never happened.

After lunch, Bucky leaves, mumbling something about the gym before slipping out the door. Steve considers joining him for a moment, as per their usual routine, but decides against it. He's pretty sure Bucky's lying and he obviously needs his space, for whatever reason, and Steve’s gonna give it to him while he still can.

After tomorrow, they can’t afford to give each other too much space; it might look suspicious. In order to be a convincing couple, young and in love, they’ll have to act like they can’t get enough of each other - playing the cute Hollywood couple; yearning and staring into each other’s eyes, always touching and holding hands, even kissing and cuddling.

Steve feels hot suddenly and pulls off his jacket to go hang it up. Passing in front of the entryway mirror, he pauses and takes in his reflection. His face is flushed and his eyes are bright, wild; his hair is in disarray, _as if someone ran their fingers through it_ ; his skin feels tight and uncomfortable, almost like he craves something he can’t have but desperately wants. No, that’s not the right word. Not _crave_ , but _desire_. Not _something_ , but _someone_.

_Bucky_. The name whispers like a caress through his mind.

As Steve lets his thoughts veer down that path, to the place inside himself he’s been avoiding since Bucky came back - just like he avoided it back during the war and even before that, when the nights would be too cold for their cheap, rundown apartment - he watches his reflection. He watches his chest heave as his breaths come harder and faster when he thinks about Bucky curling around him, lining their hips up perfectly _to sleep better, Stevie_. He watches his pupils dilate as he thinks about all the times he’d wake up thanking God that his body was too weak or too sick to show how interested he was-

Steve’s entranced, watching the changes unfolding before him. Standing in the front hall, staring in the mirror for hours or minutes, he doesn't know. He probably wouldn’t even have registered the door opening and someone slipping through if they didn’t hit the open closet door, causing it to bump into him.

Steve snaps back to himself fast enough to get mental whiplash, and turns to greet Bucky, apologizing even while trying to help him.

“Oh, Buck! M’sorry! I was just hanging up my jacket, and I didn’t hear your key in the door and-”

“Steve. It’s okay,” Bucky says, placing a hand on his shoulder. “I didn’t use a key because I never locked the door.” He pauses, looking Steve up and down, giving him a strange look before he tightens his grip for just a second, fast enough Steve is sure he imagined it. “It’s fine. Don’t worry about it-” He pulls his hand back to cover a yawn. “So. I’m beat. I know we have to go over the stuff Fury gave us but I’m gonna go take a nap for a few hours, and we can look at it when I wake up, okay?”

And that’s when Steve notices for the first time since this morning just how tired he looks; there are bags under Bucky’s eyes dark enough to resemble bruises, and he is practically sagging with physical exhaustion.

Steve nods, “God yes, Buck, that’s fine! When’s the last time you slept, anyway? No, nevermind. You go nap, and I’ll just clean or watch tv or something. Don’t worry about an alarm; I’ll just wake you up in a few hours for dinner, yeah?”

“Only if we can order in, punk.”

Steve can feel his lips tilt in the ghost of a smile. “Sure, ya jerk. Only the good Chinese for you.”

Bucky nods and gives him a grateful smile before he turns and drags his feet down the hall and around the corner, disappearing from sight. Steve can hear him moving around for a bit before settling. A few minutes later and he can hear Bucky’s breathing deepen and even out, signalling sleep.

“Jesus,” Steve mutters, rubbing his hands over his face. If Bucky had been the slightest bit more alert, Steve would have gotten caught getting all hot and bothered over his best friend. His _straight_ best friend that he just got back from decades of _torture_ and _manipulation_. It was bad enough in the forties when liking Bucky could get them both in a lot of trouble, but now it just wasn’t right. Bucky just got himself back, and he didn’t deserve to have to choose between staying friends with Steve or being honest about his feelings. And he would, choose Steve that is, no matter how uncomfortable that made him. _Hell, he'd probably find some way to blame himself for my feelings, too_ , Steve thinks bitterly.

Steve has kept whatever this is inside for this long; he can keep it hidden during this mission too. No problem.

 

Steve decides to keep himself busy for the next few hours doing mundane chores like the dishes and laundry, waiting for Bucky to wake up. At around 9 o’clock, he calls their favorite Chinese place before heading back to Bucky’s room, only to hear the moans that usually accompany the beginning of a nightmare.

They learned early on that there was no best way to wake Bucky up without winding up pinned and possibly fighting the Soldier for a moment or two, not when he was deep into a nightmare; so Steve usually tries calling his name from the doorway before shaking his shoulder or rubbing his back like the old days. On their better nights, Bucky would wake up with little to no prompting; he’d sit up with Steve for a bit or go on a late night trip to the gym before attempting to sleep again.

With this is mind, Steve takes a deep breath and pushes Bucky’s door open, practically jumping out of his skin when he hears him mumble Steve’s name.

“Steve. No-” Bucky’s head starts thrashing as his moans get louder. “Steve! Don’t touch him!”

Steve snaps into motion and rushes to the bed, completely forgetting their usual routine, and kneels, facing Bucky, putting them at eye level. Gripping his shoulder hard enough to bruise a normal man, Steve tries not to let Bucky’s distress panic him. Keeping a calm voice, he tries to soothe him awake. “Buck? Come on, Bucky. Wake up-”

Bucky’s thrashing gets worse, and he starts screaming. In between the screams, Steve can still hear his name being called out. “Steve! Get off him! STEVE-”

“Bucky!” He’s shaking Bucky’s shoulder violently now, leaning over him and ducking any fists that come his way. “Bucky, wake up! It’s me; it’s Steve!” He practically yells the last part, panicking now.

The yelling cuts off, and, for a moment, everything is quiet before he mumbles, “St-Steve?”

“Yes. Yeah, Buck, it’s me.” Steve breathes out a sigh of relief and settles back, sitting on his heels. The room goes eerily quiet as Bucky settles, shaking. His breathing slowly evens out. Steve waits a moment longer, wondering if Bucky managed to fall back asleep when he sighs, body deflating, and blinks his eyes open, staring at the ceiling.

“Steve,” Bucky croaks out before clearing his throat and continuing. “S-sorry about that. Um, thanks. Hope I didn’t hit you again.” Rolling his head to look at Steve, he attempts a smile that comes out more like a grimace. “Guess your wake up call was needed after all, huh?”

Steve lifts his lips in the ghost of a smile. “Nah, Buck, you’re good. Just another nightmare, right?” Steve tries to keep the bitterness out of his voice when he says that. Bucky’s been having recurring nightmares since he came back, and every time Steve asks him about it, he just shrugs and says, ‘Just another nightmare, Stevie.’ He can barely sleep some nights, and, still, every morning, he pretends like the previous night never happened. Unless, of course, Steve got hurt somehow; then it’s all ‘I’m sorry, Steve’ and refusing to look him in the eye for hours.

Bucky nods and pulls himself into a sitting position, already shaking off the nightmare. “Right. So’s the food here?”

Steve sighs internally and allows the subject change. He gets up and sits on the bed by Bucky’s feet, stretching out his legs and hearing them pop in protest of him kneeling for so long. “The food’s on it’s way. Since we still have to go through Fury’s files before tomorrow, I figured I’d get you up, and you could shower and get comfortable before we eat?” He phrases it as a question, unsure whether Bucky had time to shower before the debrief this morning.

Bucky groans, “God that sounds like heaven. You always know how’ta take care of me, Stevie.”

Steve can feel the blush creep up his cheeks and attempts to cover it up by laughing and looking away. “Of course, Buck. Now;” He pushes up off the bed and walks to the door, “Get up, ya big lug. At this rate, food’ll be cold before you’re done!”

As Steve’s walking down the hallway, he can hear Bucky snort and shout, “It’s not even here yet!”

Steve smiles to himself and yells back, “Excuses, excuses!”

Bucky’s laughter follows him all the way to the living room.

 

The food arrives a few minutes later, and Steve carries it, and the envelope Fury gave him, to the living room. He busies himself setting up the takeout containers while waiting for Bucky to finish showering. He’s just finished reorganizing the lo mein and fried rice for the third time when Bucky walks out in basketball shorts slung low around his hips, wet hair piled up in a messy bun, and shirtless with his towel draped around his neck.

Steve desperately tries to ignore the drops of water sliding slowly down, tracing the muscles of Bucky’s torso. He’s seen Bucky shirtless plenty of times; privacy isn’t easy to come by when sharing a tiny, hole-in-the-wall apartment, not to mention the war, and now is no different. Averting his eyes and clearing his throat, he gestures to the table and says, “I got dumplings and-”

Bucky’s hand snaps out and grabs a dumpling, popping it into his mouth. Eyes closed, he moans in appreciation. “Ahh, god, that’s good. They do know how to make amazing dumplings, huh, Stevie?” Bucky glances up at Steve and smiles, in a visibly better mood after his nap and shower. “So, awesome Chinese and some Netflix before we crack open Fury’s files?”

In answer, Steve pushes the dumplings closer to Bucky and pulls up Netflix. “What’re you up for watching, Buck? Another item off the list or one out of the queue?”

Bucky shrugs around a mouthful of food, so Steve just plays the next item in their queue, something Clint had added called _Grumpy Old Men_. Steve snorts, causing Bucky to look up and notice the title, rolling his eyes. He mumbles something about getting revenge on Bird-Boy while reaching for the fried rice, and Steve can’t help but grin. Bucky becomes more and more like his old self every day - always quick to smile, with comebacks on the tip of his tongue. Steve knows Bucky won't ever be the guy from before the war, again - the guy who could sweet talk every dame in Brooklyn - but when he does little things - things the Soldier would never do or say - something deep in his gut loosens a little each time.

Bucky quirks his lips, fighting off a smile, and says, “Come on, Steve; eat up. We ain’t got all night, ‘n we got work to do.”

He huffs out a laugh and shoves Bucky’s shoulder. “Yeah, yeah. Just as long as you don’t eat it all first.”

By the time the credits roll on the movie, Steve is scraping the last of the lo mein out of the bottom of his container while Bucky plays with the last dumpling before offering it to Steve. He refuses the offer and watches as Bucky pops the final dumpling into his mouth with a heavy sigh. Both men survey the mess of take out containers on the coffee table for a moment before Steve heaves himself up off the couch and leaves the room.

Bucky lets his head roll to the side, following Steve’s movements as he walks back into the room carrying a trash bag. Heaving himself up off the couch, he starts shoving the empty containers into the bag while Steve holds it open. They work together, and, once the table has been cleared, Bucky ties the bag off and throws it away while Steve retrieves the envelope Fury gave him.

The atmosphere shifts to something more tense when Bucky comes back into the room and sees the envelope. Bucky pauses mid step, only for a moment, and then continues into the room. Sitting, legs crossed on the floor in front of the coffee table, face drawn, he nods at Steve to open it.

Taking a deep breath and kneeling in front of the coffee table, Steve turns the envelope upside down and watches as a small stack of papers and several small boxes slide out. He picks up the papers and flips through them, glancing over the contents of each while Bucky fiddles with the boxes. There’s a copy of the mission briefing, maps of the town, a list of the neighborhood families, and what looks like a full background on both Steve and Bucky’s new identities - Scott Smith and James Bennett, respectively.

Of course, Bucky gets to keep his real first name and initials. James Barnes is a lot less noteable than Steve Rogers. Besides, Fury’s team of psychologists would probably worry about stressing his “fragile” grasp on the here and now if they deviated too far from the original. Steve snorts to himself, earning a look from Bucky.

Steve just shakes his head with an inscrutable look on his face and starts to  
skim their backgrounds, murmuring along out loud as he reads. “Scott Smith is an art major turned, now former, volunteer fireman-” Steve points to his chest while talking and pauses before pointing to Bucky and continuing. “And James Bennett is an ex-military amputee, honourably discharged after losing a limb.” Steve pauses again, conscious of the metal arm currently brushing against his side. Bucky meets his gaze for a moment, both men refusing to look at his arm, and offers a self depreciating smile before inclining his head for Steve to continue. “They were highschool sweethearts who reconnected when James came back to their hometown after being listed as MIA for 12 weeks, a little less whole, but otherwise fine. Scott and James moved in together almost immediately and married 5 months later. The newlyweds decided they needed a change of scenery and bought a house in Suburbia with their combined savings.”

Bucky shrugs, face unreadable. “Should be simple enough to remember.”

Steve nods his head in agreement, setting aside the paperwork for Bucky to look at if he wants, and pulls the first little box towards him and opens the clasp. Inside, there are two chains and a set of dog tags with  
_Bennett, James_  
_32557038_  
_O pos_  
_Jewish_  
stamped into the metal. Steve toys with the chains for a bit, thinking of Bucky’s old tags from the war. Turning, he hands the box to Bucky and reaches for the next one.

Watching Bucky out of the corner of his eye, Steve sees him pull out the tags, close the box, and set it aside without hesitation. He watches him hold the tags for a moment, fingers tracing the words, before Bucky slips them over his head and tucks them under his shirt.

Steve grips the next box hesitantly, unsure what to expect and equally unsure as to why he’s so nervous. He can feel Bucky tense up beside him and has to fight back the insane urge to laugh. Both men have been through hell and back, and they’re dreading opening up a small box like its contents will attack them. Shaking his head with a self depreciating huff, Steve flips it open quickly, and this time he does laugh. Pulling out two sets of keys and tossing the box aside, he dangles one set in front of Bucky with a grin. When Bucky flashes a quick smile and shoves Steve, snatching the keys in the process, Steve laughs again. Bucky tucks his set of keys away, probably in a pocket somewhere, and Steve does the same.

The atmosphere is decidedly lighter when Steve picks up the last box, this one smaller and more square than the last two. With his smile still in place and his hesitation gone, he doesn’t think twice about opening the lid, revealing two basic gold bands. Wedding rings. _Shit_.

Steve’s smile falls, and he starts mentally kicking himself while Bucky just tenses up all over again. Of course there’d be wedding rings. They were going undercover as a couple, after all. No big deal, right? So why was his heart beating so fast, and why was Bucky creasing his brow and looking for all the world like he wants to say something?

“Steve…” Bucky drags out his name and swallows before continuing. “Steve, you do understand what’s being asked of you here, right?” He turns, facing Steve. “We have to be _a couple_ , as in _together_ , as in people will automatically assume we sleep together every night, and we’ll be expected to kiss and hold hands and-” Bucky makes a frustrated noise, rubbing his hands down his face. “ _Be_ together. You get that, right? You’re okay with that?”

And, boy, is that a loaded question for Steve. It’s almost comical, really, how worried Bucky is. If he knew how much Steve really doesn’t mind doing this, how Steve would do anything to help Bucky, no matter his feelings. If he knew just how much Steve would give up to make him happy, how much he really means to him. But he can’t tell Bucky any of that; so rather than answering, Steve smirks and asks, “Bucky...you know what suburbia entails, right? Like, nosy neighbors who say ‘Hi’ every morning and gossip about you behind your back. And getting invited to, and accepting, invites to parties and get togethers? Actually having to associate with people outside of the Avengers and delivery guys?”

Bucky sighs in irritation, almost like he’s wondering why he expected any other response from Steve, and nudges his shoulder. “Oh, shuddup; I was jus’ makin’ sure.” Standing up, he grabs the files Steve set aside and turns back to face him. “I’m gonna read these over and go pack for tomorrow; see you in the morning?” At Steve’s nod, he forces a grin and replies, “Oh, and give me my ring. I kinda need it.”

Steve smirks again. “Sure, Buck.” He turns on his knees to face Bucky and holds out the box. “Marry me?”

Bucky snorts and grabs his ring, slipping it in his pocket as he walks away. When he pauses and looks back to see Steve in the same position, just sans smile, he swallows. “And Steve? Thank you, for this and for everything else. Just- thank you, okay? I know I don't say it enough.”

Steve smiles and watches him leave the room before replying, too quiet for even Bucky’s hearing to pick up on. “Anything for you, Buck. Always.”


End file.
